Acts of Valor
by BlackFalcon269
Summary: A new threat has appeared and ancient powers need to be called forth to aid the Mane 6, But who will wiled these powers? Why, humans, of course. Takes place 6 months after the end of season 2. AJ/OC, Rainbow/OC, Twilight/OC, Vinyl Scratch/OC, FlutterMac, and other possible pairings in the future.
1. Prologue

**How to start this kind of story without sounding cliché? Is that even possible? I guess not, since asking the audience rhetorical questions to try and make a start sound intriguing is probably one of the biggest clichés going. But oh well, I might as well start now, but first, here's a disclaimer for your enjoyment:**

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all related topics and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro. The only thing I own is my characters.**

**So now that's out of the way, let's start:**

**Acts of Valor: Prologue**

"King Solaris!" the young guardsmen called, running into the royal throne-room. He bowed respectfully to the alicorn stood in front of him. A large and well-built, male, his brilliant white coat making his brilliant orange mane stand out even more. He stood, his gold crown glinting in the sunlight, his flank resplendent with a bright sun.

"What is it soldier?" He asked. He was immediately in charge, ready for what would be said.

"Sir" The young Pegasus said, straightening up. "A strange force has been reported in the East. Guards have been reporting strange turns in the weather, and the laws of magic and physics seems to no longer work properly." King Solaris' brow furrowed, as he mulled over this.

"Send messages to my five most trusted advisors. Tell them to meet me here as soon as possible" He said. The guard bowed and raced out. Solaris turned to the balcony, looking out over his kingdom. He had kept his land safe for 500 years, and he would continue to protect to his full capacity.

Half an hour later...

"My trusted friends'" Solaris said to the five ponies now standing before him. "I have called you here because of certain news that has reached me. A strange new force has been spotted in the East, and it seems to pose a threat to Equestria. Silent Shadow, what do your contacts have to report?" He turned to the leader of his elite group of spies. Silent Shadow was the most cunning of Solaris' advisors, with a sharp mind that adapted to all situations. This made him perfect for the role of Spymaster, tasked with keeping watch on every part of Equestria to make sure everything was peaceful. He was a small and slender Earth pony, with a dark purple coat and a jet black mane and tail.

"My liege," he said, bowing his head, "My contacts report that the unusual forces have been caused by a creature. It is said to be of unknown origin and species, described as an amalgamation of many beasts. Its powers are seemingly based around Chaos, and it's nature is that of Chaos itself. While it has not harmed anypony directly, his actions are causing many ponies strife. One of my close contacts has been able to identify that it refers to itself as Discord. That is the extent of my knowledge" Solaris considered Silent Shadow's words.

"Well this Discord, shall have to be dealt with swiftly. Illusion, what say you?" He turned to the oldest of his friends, His court magician and wisest philosopher. Illusion was an older unicorn with a silver coat and white mane and tail, while had turned wispy with age. However, his bright green eyes still sparkled with the exuberance of a young and powerful colt.

"My king, the powers of Chaos are never to be trusted. In order to maintain peace in the kingdom, we must act to drive this force out with great haste, and make sure it does not return." His voice was slow, but his words were strong and convicted. Solaris nodded, and turned back down the line, approaching a pair of pegasi.

The pegasi were named Steadfast and Tenderheart, and they were twin brothers. However, they had chosen two different paths in life. Steadfast was Captain of the Royal Guard, and was a great warrior. He was actually offered a position as General in the Royal Army, but had turned it down to stay where he felt he was needed more, with his fellow guards and close to the king. Tenderheart was the Royal Physician, and was well known caring for and healing all ponies he could, from nobilty to beggars, from princes to thieves. The now looked up at their king, Steadfast's crimson coat standing out against his guard uniform, While Tenderheart's lilac coating was calming, even though his face was set with a determined look..

"Dear brothers, you will be invaluable in what is to come. I know I can trust you both." Solaris said, smiling proudly at the brothers, who smiled back.

"You have our support King Solaris." Steadfast said proudly, with military stiffness. "However, I would like express my interest in how you plan to combat this force?" Solaris smiled. While loyal to a fault, Steadfast was also very impatient, and keen to get to the point of things.

"Very well" He said, deciding that now was a good time to tell them. "For a while now, I have feared that the kingdom may come under attack. One that the army couldn't handle on its own. This is why I have been working with Illusion on some very powerful artefacts that will help us. They are now ready for use, but they need to be placed in proper vessels. That is why I have brought you here in particular, my dear friend." As he said this he turned to the pony on the end of the line. The Earth Pony was of a stocky build, with a dark brown coat and a blonde messy mane and tail. His face, while solemn, still abounded with good nature and a natural happiness. This was Iron Anvil, The Royal Blacksmith, responsible for making all the armies weapons and armour. However he was also Solaris' closest friend and his good cheer was well received by the others as well.

"Anvil, I need you to make us six sets of armour, one for each of us. Nothing but your best work will suffice." Solaris instructed. Iron Anvil nodded frantically, eager to get to work straight away. With everything explained to them, Solaris, ordered his friends to make themselves ready for tomorrow. When they left, he sighed and walked out of the throne room.

Solaris entered the Royal Living quarters. It was quiet now, too quiet. For 10 years now, Solaris had missed the soft laugh of his sweet wife, Queen Galaxia. 10 years since she had succumb to a strange and fatal illness which even he didn't know. However, Even though she was gone, she hadn't left him alone. Solaris smiled warmly as he walked over to the smaller bed next to his. He gazed in lovingy at the two foals who slept peacefully. The elder sister, her coat as white as her fathers, her mane falling in a flowing mix of pink, blue and turquoise. Her young sibling was snuggled up next to her, her midnight blue coat contrasting harshly with her sisters, her mane almost black. Solaris smiled again, and turned away.

""Gentle." He said softly, and in from the next room trotted an old and kid looking Earth Pony, Her coat a powder blue, in contrast to her sweet yellow eyes. Gentle Touch was the young girls nanny, taking care of them when their father couldn't.

"Gentle, please listen carefully." Solaris said in hushed tones so as not to wake his daughters. "I have an important task I must ask of you. Should anything happen to me in the following days, I need you to get the girls to a safe place. They must not be found by Discord. If I don't return they will need to be able to rise up in the future. Can I trust you to do this?" Gentle Touch nodded slowly, and King Solaris smiled gently. Turning, he gently kissed each of his daughter's foreheads, and left to prepare for battle.

_The next day, King Solaris and his five friends set out to confront Discord. They met on a plain field a week's walk away from the castle. However, before battle could begin properly, A strange earthquake was felt all around. Suddenly a large expanse of forest shot up from the ground. But this was no ordinary forest. Discord's magic had warped it so that things were as chaotic as possible. For this forest did not require to be monitored by ponies, and through some strange power, began to evolve almost as soon as it had sprung._

_King Solaris and his companions never came out of that forest. Some say that Discord carried them away to some other dimension; others say they are still within that strange wood, waiting for salvation. However many believed that they had fallen in battle. When Gentle Touch heard of what happened, she spirited the Princesses away before Discord could reach the royal Castle._

_For 500 years, Discord ruled the ponies of Equestria with tyranny and chaos, until the Royal Sisters found the power of the Element of Harmony to imprison him in stone. They recaptured the Royal Castle, renaming it Canterlot in honour of a new dawn for Equestria, which flourished once more under their leadership._

_2000 years have passed since King Solaris' disappearance, and both him and his companions have passed into legend and myth, along with the powers they wielded. Only the Royal Sisters have any recollection of that time, though it is not clear._

_But now something is about to occur in Equestria, something that neither Sister could believ possible, and the six lost Artefacts need to be returned. However, they will also need new wielders, and they are going to come from a very unlikely source._

_Our world..._

**And that's it guys, hope you like it, be sure to subscribe and I will see you guys later with another chapter.**


	2. Our Heroes, Fillies and Gentlecolts

**Alright, after that Prologue, let's get into the introduction of our main characters. Thanks to the people who have read and commented on the prologue. Special thanks to ShiningShadow1965, as he was the very first person to leave a review. SO anyways:**

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all related topics and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro. The only thing I own is my characters.**

**Acts Of Valor: Chapter 1**

"Come on AJ, please?"

"No"

"Come on. For me?"

"For the hundredth time Kaylee, no!"

"_Pwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaa aasssssssssssssseeeeeeeee?"_

"Uh, Fine!" AJ finally said, sighing with exasperation. He stood up and looked over at his younger sister, who was looking at him with her trademark puppy-dog look. He was never able to resist that, so he slowly grabbed his coat and headed out of the door, Kaylee following behind. Getting into Aj's car, they backed out of the driveway and drove off.

"Thanks AJ, It's been so long since we've done anything together." Kaylee said excitedly. AJ nodded, concentrating on the road. It was only 10 minutes before they pulled up outside another house.

"Just remember Kaylee, this is the first time you're hanging with me and my mates, so try not to do anything too stupid." AJ reminded her as he approached and knocked. Quickly the door was opened by another boy of AJ's age, with a flash of bright orange hair. He smiled brightly.

"Hey AJ, come on in." He said, opening the door wide.

"Hey Zack, Thanks for letting us come over. This is my little sister Kaylee." AJ said entering. Kaylee gave a small wave to Zack, smiling politely.

"Hi Kaylee, nice to meet you." Zack said happily. "It's a good thing you came really, my cousin Izzy just got dropped off for the weekend, and she's driving the rest of us nuts." He led them through to the living room, where three other people were sitting. AJ smiled at his friends. Sean sat in an armchair, giving a wave as he smoothed his dark brown hair down. On the sofa sat Jamie, his messy blonde mop doing little to conceal the boredom on his face. On the other end of the sofa sat a girl of Kaylee's age with frizzy peach-coloured hair, and an excitable face. She looked over at the three as they entered the room. Almost at once she bounded over to Kaylee.

"Hi Kay, what brings you here?" She asked excitedly. She then rounded on Zack. "Zacky, you didn't tell me you knew one of my best friends." She said, poking him in the chest.

"That's because I don't." Zack said, making an annoyed face while AJ sniggered at the nickname. "Well now she's here, you can go up to your room, no need to bother us down here. " Izzy pouted but headed up the stairs anyway, Kaylee following.

"Thank the Lord for that." Sean finally said as he relaxed into the armchair. "That girl was so hyper I thought she was made of sugar." He reached over for the remote, flicking between channels. He eventually set it on the right channel as Zack flipped the games console on.

"She's not so bad most of the time." Zack admitted as she threw a controller each over to Sean and AJ. "She just gets excited around new people." He settled down with his laptop and headphones to concentrate on his mixing, as Jamie picked up a third controller.

For the next few hours the 4 friends busied themselves, playing games, watching TV, or listening to music. However the girls eventually came down and complained being hungry. AJ suggested they go out to lunch, and the six friends piled in and headed out to a local restaurant. As they sat down and ordered food, the Izzy and Kaylee began talking in earnest about something. AJ only caught snippets, but words such as 'cutie marks', 'pegasister' and 'Derpy Hooves' made him quirk an eybrow.

"What do you think those two are talking about?" He asked Zack, knowing the girls were too engrossed in their own conversation to overhear.

"Oh it's that 'My Little Pony' thing that the Internet's all blown up over." Zack said dismissively. AJ nodded; he had heard from his sister about the new cartoon about those old toys that used to be popular when he was younger.

"Yeah, can you believe all those guys on the internet who watch that show? How sad is that?" Sean said dismissively, as the drinks arrived. "I mean, you think they'd have something better to do than watch some dumb kids show on the internet. AJ and Zack both nodded.

"Um, it's actually not too bad when you watch it..." A small voice said, causing all three boys to stare wide-eyed, at Jamie, now looking steadily down at his drink.

"Don't tell me you actually watch that thing?" Sean said disbelievingly, Staring at Jamie.

"Well, it's not as bad as you say it is." Jamie said in a low whisper so as not to arouse the girl's suspicions. "If you actually watched a few you'd realize that for yourself."

"I'd rather not thanks, I like being able to call myself a male." Sean said sarcastically. Zack laughed and AJ smirked slightly. Honestly he didn't get the massive debate going on the internet. It was a cartoon, nothing more than that, and it wasn't doing any harm.

After they finished their meal, the group climbed back into the car. By now Kaylee and Izzy had found out about Jamie liking the show and quickly pulled him into their conversation, as well as defending him from Sean's teasing. Zack and AJ were sitting in front, chatting to themselves. AJ's eyes were fixed on the road, trying his best to talk to Sean and concentrate at the same time.

As they were coming up to the lights, another car rammed into them from the side, the side, the driver having blown a tyre. AJ spun the steering wheel, trying his best to adjust to the rocking hit. He slammed on the brakes as they approached the lights, but the extra momentum carried them past it. The horn from the truck blared as it came down upon them, Izzy and Kaylee screamed, and the world went dark for the six teenagers...

_A few hours later..._

"Sister, are you sure?" Luna asked cautiously, eyeing the uncocious bodies as they were wheeled into several ambulances. She and Celestia were flying above the city, oblivious to human eyes.

"Yes my sister, they are suitable. I will need your help to transport their dormant souls to our lands. They will find their own forms, and they will live in our world."

"Yes, but how do you know they are what we need?" Luna asked, confused by her sisters words. "Why do we need these creatures to come to Equestria in the first place?"

"I have my reasons Luna. I have a feeling that something ancient is about to awake, something that will need more than just those of our world." Celestia explained. In truth she had been feeling this for a while now. She had consulted the Canterlot Library multiple times, and had only found one hint as to what might be done; six souls from outside of the world of Equestria must be brought t their world.

"Alright sister, I trust you." Luna said finally, before the two began the task of bringing the six new souls into a new world; one which they might end up saving

**And there you go guys. I wasn't tto sure about the ending at first, but now I'm confident about it being okay, just a basic intro to our six new Wileders of Valor. In the next chapter, things really start coming together. Our heroes awaken to learn their fate, and begin their ne**


	3. New Awakenings

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter. Let's see how our heroes cope with the fact they've become ponies.**

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all related topics and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro. The only thing I own is my characters.**

**Let's Git,R,Dun!**

**Acts of Valor: Chapter 2**

AJ's eyes fluttered as he came round. His head pounded heavily, and he shook it to clear his vision. However his vision couldn't help much, as the room he seemed to be in was almost pitch black.

"Ugh..." He groaned as he tried to remember how he had got here. Suddenly it all came flooding back_. The car... the truck and... Oh God the others!_

"Kaylee?" AJ called out desperately into the darkness. "Zack! Jamie! Anyone!"

"AJ! AJ, is that you?" He heard his sisters voice to his left. "Kaylee!" He called trying to run over, but he seemed to trip over something in front of him and fall on his face.

"Calm down dude, we're all here." He heard Sean's voice cut over him. "And by the looks of things we're all okay."

"But how?" Izzy asked confusedly, her voice over to the right of AJ. "The last thing I can remember was that truck bearing down on us. I thought we were gonna die."

"What if we are?" Jamie asked timidly. "What if this is all some kind of limbo that we're stuck in, something between life and death?"

"Don't tell me you really believe all of that stuff Jamie." Sean said.

"You got another explanation?" Zack asked. "It's either that or we've all been transported to some alternate dimension or something."

"I doubt that Zack." Kaylee said simply. "The first thing we need to do is find a light source. Then we can argue over what crazy world we're in" As if to answer her, a sudden bright light filled the room. It reflected off the walls, which the group all recognized as crystals before they were blinded by the reflection of the light. A few seconds later the light dimmed a bit, and they dared to open their eyes. However they were not prepared for what they saw in their reflections in the crystalline walls.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" AJ, Zack and Sean all shouted as they looked at themselves. They tried to stand up, but they were having trouble. Especially since they weren't used to standing on four hooves before today.

"What is this?" Zack asked, examining himself. His body was tall and slender, the coat a dark blue in colour, which was set off by his bright scarlet eyes. His hair _("Or should that be mane?"_ AJ thought to himself) was still bright orange, and came back in a high spiked style. His tail was just a spiky, and just as orange. However, the one thing he was noticing more than anything else was a horn protruding from the middle of his forehead. It curved upwards slightly, and was drawing all his attention to it, which in effect gave him a funny cross-eyed look on his face. On his side was a large symbol of a streak of flames.

"You think you've got it bad?" asked Sean, staring at himself with confusion and a little bit of anger. His coat was a dark caramel, his natural aqua blue eyes looking himself over. His mane was a dark brown like before, and was smoothly swept over his left ear in a short quiff of sorts, his tail smooth and curling up at the end. However he was most concerned in about the large wings sticking straight out of his spine, he gave them a tentative flap, seemingly unsure as to whether trust them or not. His symbol was that of a piece of parchment with a quill in front of it.

"Okay, I hate to ask, but Jamie, is this what I think it is?" From what he had heard from Jamie and the girls, AJ had a sneaking suspicion as to where they were, and what they were.

"It looks like it AJ." Jamie said cheerfully flying over with his own set of wings. His coat was a dark silvery-gray, with a pair of feathers on his side, and his mane was just as messy as it was in real life, and the same light blonde. His tail was short and scruffy too, and his eyes, a light, almost sky-blue, seemed to radiate as he talked. "We've been turned into ponies!" He said excitedly.

"And how is that anything to be happy about?" Sean asked angrily. "We're stuck in some silly girly world as a group of stupid horses! How could this get any worse?"

"Oh calm down you, don't be such a spoilsport." Came another voice to AJ's left, which he recognized as Izzy. She trotted forward happily, her light green coat almost blending in with the crystal walls. Her eyes were a purple colour, and her mane fell down in a messy cut that was a peachy orange. Like Zack she also had a horn, though hers was straight, and her side had a gear with a wrench in front emblazoned on it. "Come on Sean, this is gonna be so cool." She said excitedly.

"Easy for you to say, you actually like this kiddie stuff." Sean grumbled.

"Well if you actually gave it a chance, you might enjoy yourself, instead of complaining." Kaylee said simply, trotting forwards. Her coat was a light yellow colour, which offset her aqua eyes. Her mane was a jet black, with three pink streaks in it. Her tail was also black, and tied up with a pink ribbon. On her side, there was a symbol of a poppy. "Right AJ?" she asked, turning to look at him. AJ finally turned to look at himself, examining his reflection in the crystal. His coat was a dark burgundy red, with golden brown hooves. His emerald green eyes looked in confusion at his hair, also a jet black like his sister, except his hung loose and was streaked with gold, like his tail. He turned and saw on his side the image of a large tree, with a split in the middle of the trunk. He shook his head and looked again, just to be sure.

"Well..." he said after a while. "While I can't say I'm tremendously excited to be here, what else can we do exactly? Not like we can turn ourselves back into humans. We might as well try to make the best of it guys." Jamie and the girls nodded happily in agreement. Sean grumbled a little but eventually nodded, as did Zack.

"Okay" Aj said. Now the first thing we need to do is find out where we are exactly." AJ said, looking around at the room they were in. It seemed to be some kind of cell, except instead of bars, the walls were coated with the shiny green crystal. No way out could be seen.

"Well on first glance, I would say that we're in the Crystal Caverns beneath Canterlot Castle." Izzy said, looking around. "Looks like this room has been converted to some kind of holding cell." She looked over at the others who nodded. AJ tilted his head at the name 'Canterlot', but then reminded himself where he was.

"So what do we do then? Wait for whoever's in charge around here?" Zack asked, obviously eager to do something. His question was answered however, when a large chunk of crystal on the far side of the room slid down into the floor revealing a blinding light. The six shielded their eyes, almost blinded by the brightness of the doorway. The light faded and the six looked up to see two ponies stood before them. They both had wings and horns, which AJ remembered made them alicorns, if his sister's talk in the car was correct. The elder of the two was a brilliant white with amethyst eyes and a glorious mane and tail of multiple colours. Her flank was marked with a large sun symbol, and she wore a golden crown upon her head. The alicorn next to her was about a head shorter, and seemed to be younger as well. Her coat was a midnight blue, her mane and tail were equally dark, but seemed to sparkle like the night sky. Her flank had a crescent moon on it, and her crown was almost black. The two alicorns approached, causing Jamie Izzy and Kaylee to respectfully bow their heads. AJ and the others didn't however, since they didn't know who the people standing before them were.

"Greetings to you, humans of Earth." The white alicorn said respectfully, in a kind and gentle voice. The six former humans looked at the pony wide-eyed; she _knew_ they were human?

"Alright, that is it." Sean said irritably, walking forwards to towards her. "I don't about the others, but I am definitely getting some answers right..." He was going to continue ranting, but ended walking right into a dark blue force field, bouncing back with surprising force, landing on his rum in front of the others. AJ and looked curiously at the force field, which they saw was being generated by the glowing horn of the blue alicorn, who stared sternly at Sean. She dropped the force field at a look from the elder alicorn, who looked at us kindly.

"You need not worry, young man; all your questions will be answered in good time." The alicorn aid calmly. "First let us introduce ourselves. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, and this is my younger sister, Princess Luna." She gestured to her sister, who nodded her head at the group. The six friends bowed their head in respect, then looked at the Princesses.

"Sorry about Sean, he's just getting used to this." AJ said, looking at the Celestia. "We all are. Could you please explain to us why we're here?" He asked.

"Your shock is understandable; allow me to put your minds at ease." Celestia said calmly. "This is the kingdom of Equestria, a separate dimension from yours of Earth. Our magic allows my sister and I to travel between these dimensions when we please. While there we came across the site of your accident. We saw that you were injured, perhaps fatally. So we decided to transport you to Equestria, in order to preserve your lives. We have only kept you down here to make sure that you were kept out of harm's way". While Celestia spoke, the group listened intently. However, Zack noticed something out the corner of his eye. It looked like Luna was looking away whilke her sister spoke, somewhat distracted. However, he ignored it for now. While Celestia finished speaking.

"Well, we thank you for saving our lives, Princess, and for bringing us into your world." Izzy said graciously. "But what are we to do now? Is there any way to return to our world?"

"Do not fear. My sister and I are already working on a way to return you to your world. In the meantime, we invite you to stay in our realm. The small village of Ponyville lies not too far from here, and we have organized a place for you to stay there. My student and her friends are here to take you there and make sure you settle in." Celestia said. She turned to the chunk of wall that had been the door, and opened it again. Bright light streamed in, and the groups could figure out 6 silhouettes entering the room.

"You don't really think it's them, do you?" Kaylee whispered anxiously to Jamie.

"Oh I really think it is." Jamie said excitedly as the light faded again. The group could see 6 mares standing next to the princesses. There were 2 of each type, just like in their group.

"Princess, is this them?" one of the unicorns asked Celestia. She was a deep purple colour, with a darker purple mane, which fell straight with a few coloured streaks through it. On her side was printed a large star with little stars around it.

"Gee I don't know, you see any other ponies around here?" Sean said sarcastically while rolling his eyes. Purple mare frowned slightly, but one of her friends seemed to take it a bit worse.

"What's that supposed to mean?" A blue Pegasus said angrily flying right up to Sean. Sean stood his ground and actually started to flap his own wings, using them to get on a level with the winged pony. He locked his eyes with the magenta ones opposite him, though he couldn't help but notice the rainbow mane hanging down her head. However, he soon became preoccupied by the feling of his tail being rather painfully pulled, causing him to drop to the floor. He looked back to see Zack spitting his tail out of his mouth. He was about to round on him but Zack interrupted him.

"Look you, the last thing we need is you picking fights. You're a pony now, get used to it." Zack said irritably in a whisper so the others couldn't hear him. Sean started to say something, but the look on both AJ's and Zack's face, made him shut up. AJ looked over to see that an orange pony with a cowboy hat on had done the same to the rainbow pegasus, who also relented. AJ nodded with a small smile, and she did the same. Celestia just watched the scene with a slightly amused look on her face.

"This is my most trusted student, Twilight Sparkle. " She said indicating the purple unicorn, who nodded her help. "And these are her friends, together they make up the Elements of Harmony, responsible for saving our kingdom on two separate equations. They are here to accompany you to your new home in Ponyville. From here on we leave you in their care, my sister and I must attend to our duties. I hope you enjoy your stay in Equestria my friends." She and Luna turned and exited the caves, the two groups of ponies bowing their heads in respect. When they exited, the group of mare turned back to the group of humans.

"Well that's how it is." Twilight said turning back to the group. "Well we should be on our way, but let's get introductions out of the way first. I'm Twilight Sparkle, as you know." She smiled at the group.

"Ah'm Applejack, nice to meet ya'll" The orange cowpony said next, tipping her hat to the group.

"Names Rainbow Dash, don't forget it." Said the blue Pegasus, eyeing Sean in particular. He just rolled his eyes.

"Um...hi...I'm, uh, Fl-Fluttershy." Whispered a timid yellow Pegasus who the group had almost forgotten in the corner of the cave. Izzy and KAylee gave her a smile and a wave, which just caused her to flinch. AJ raised an eyebrow to this, but Jamie gave him a 'I'll explain later' look.

"I'm Rarity, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." A white unicorn said in a formal manner. As AJ looked over the group, he saw only those 5, but where was the sixth pony? That question was quickly answered when a pink blur tackled him out of nowhere. AJ found himself on his back with his face inches away from a pony of bright pink, with equally pink hair.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, It's so great to meet you all, I can't believe I'm getting to meet 6 new friends in one day. I mean that's gotta be a record or something. I have loads of records, like this one time I managed to hold my breath underwater for like, nearly an hour, and that's gotta be some kind of record right? But anyway, I'm getting off topic, what's your name?" She pressed her face closer to AJ, unnerving him slightly.

"Uh, well my name's..." AJ started but was interrupted by Izzy putting a hoof over his mouth.

"Could you excuse us for a moment please?" She asked sweetly. Pinkie Pie nodded, and Izzy dragged the rest of her friends into a quick huddle.

"Okay, we can't let them know our real names. They wouldn't blend in properly around this world. We need to think of new names." Jamie and Kaylee both nodded, knowing the kind of world they were in.

"What, we have to make up some silly sounding name? How are we supposed to do that?" Sean asked, already regretting this desicion.

"Well, we could make up something based on our cutie marks. Those are the marks on our flanks, before you ask, AJ." Kaylee said simply, looking at AJ as he raised his eyebrow. He nodded, and together the group began discussing what they should be named.

After about 5 minutes, they broke their huddle and returned to the other, who were waiting patiently.

"Okay, well it's nice to meet you all, I guess we should introduce ourselves as well." Zack said, taking the initiative. "I'm Blaze Streak. Nice to have met you guys."

"I'm Oaksplitter, and this is my little sister, Poppy Seed." AJ said politely, as Kaylee gave a small wave to the group.

"Hi, you can call me Sprocket Wrench, or just Sprocket for short, whatever you prefer." Izzy said happily, smiling almost as wide as Pinkie was.

"My name's Swiftfeather." Amie said proudly, flapping his wings excitedly. The others looked at Sean expectantly, though he obviously wasn't overly excited about it.

"I'm Scripture, how you doing?" He said finally, smiling slightly that at least he had a somewhat reasonable name that wasn't too stupid.

"Alright, now that that's done, let's get going." Twilight said happily. "Trust me, you guys are going to love Ponyville." She led the way through the castle corridors. The group looked on in awe at the large castle halls and the beautiful architecture. Soon enough they found themslevs heading out of the castle and towards the train station. As they did thi they were unaware of the two sets of eyes watching them depart.

"Are you sure it was wise to not tell your student about their condition?" Asked and anxious Luna.

"Yes Luna." Celestia said calmly. "For now Twilight and her friends belive them to be just other ponies from a faraway land; it is too soon to let them know of their true origins. The time will come when they are all ready, but first we must let them get used to life here, while we wait for the right moment." Celestia could see the doubt in Luna's eyes as she watched the large group grow smaller.

"Do not worry little sister, They will not let us down, I am sure of it."

Luna nodded, keeping her eyes firmly set on the horizon as the sun started to move lower, preparing for the evening.

**And there we go, Chapter 3 is finally done. Thanks to all those who have waited long enough to see it come. Please read, enjoy, and leave your reviews for me to read.**

**I have decided that I should stop rushing myself with writing this, as it usually leads to me losing interest. So I will take my time, but am optimally hoping to have a new chapter every month. So that should give you something to look forward.**

**Also, if you guys reading know anyone who is, or are yourself good at drawing, feel free to draw my characters as you plz. I always love the OC pics on deviantart, but I am of little talent when it comes to drawing. If I happen to give any budding artists inspiration to draw, then please feel free to put pencil to paper. I would greatly appreciate all kinds of pictures to be made of my characters, just let me know when you guys make them and post them, and I'll be happy to leave the links in future chapters so others can get a look at your work.**

**Finally, Thank you for reading, tell your friends about this, and I'll see you next month with Chapter 4.**


	4. Settling In

**Alright guys Here's Chapter 4, Now let's see, we've had our heroes, saved from death by the Princesses, and they're heading to their new home in Ponyville with the Mane 6. What's gonna happen next? Well, let's read on and find out, shall we?**

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all related topics and characters belong to Lauren Faust and Hasbro. The only thing I own is my characters.**

**For Gondor!**

**Acts of Valor: Chapter 3**

The train ran along the tracks smoothly as the 12 ponies waited inside, taking up nearly half a carriage on their own They were mostly chatting amongst themselves, except for Sean, who was leaning his head on the window, looking at the countryside rushing past. AJ looked over at his best friend sat next to him, a frown of concern crossing his lips.

"You miss home?" He asked, causing Sean to look over.

"How could you tell?" He asked sarcastically. AJ just looked at him. Sean sighed and sat up properly. "Well what about you?" He asked AJ. "We're miles away from our homes in another dimension and we're a bunch of pastel coloured ponies. Don't you miss being, you know, normal?"

"Of course I miss it." AJ said simply. "I miss being able to walk on two legs, and having fingers, and all of that. But until we get back, we might as well make the most of it. Look the others are settling in fine." He said indicating the other four of his friends, who were talking with the six mares they had met.

"Well, Jamie and the girls are actually happy to be here in the first place, and Zack is just that kind of guy. He's more used to change than both of us." AJ nodded, looking over at the blue unicorn laughing at a joke made by Rainbow Dash.

"Come on man, just forget about it for now. Who knows, you might actually enjoy yourself." AJ said smiling at Sean. Sean finally nodded, smiling back as the two bump their hooves together, like they used to do.

"Fine, but there's one thing I want to know." He said turning his head to the purple unicorn sitting across from him. "Hey Twilight, is there going to be any chance of jobs for us lot down in Ponyville? If we're going to be living there, we really should find a source of money." Twilight nodded and thought to herself for a second.

"Well, I do know that Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were looking for another worker for their music shop." Twilight said after a while. "And I heard Lily down at the florists wanted a hand for a while." Zack looked over at the mention of a music shop.

"Well I'll take the music shop job, that's my specialty." He said. AJ had to agree that Zack was decent with music. He played guitar since he was 8, and he definitely knew what he was doing when it came to mixing tracks as well.

"Well, I guess I'll go talk to this Lily about the florist's job."Kaylee said meekly. Looking at her cutie mark, she thought it best to go with something that matched it.

"Well that's you two sorted, but I don't know about everyone else." Twilight admitted sheepishly. Sean frowned. Only having two people with jobs wasn't going to get them by.

"Well ah can take on Oaksplitter at the farm if you want." Applejack volunteered. AJ looked over.

"Really? I've never really worked anywhere like that before." AJ admitted. He didn't know if he was cut out for work on a farm. After all, he had lived in the city all of his life, and while not adverse to physical labour, he had never seen it as something he excelled at.

"You're kidding right? A build like yours, you're practically made for apple bucking." Applejack said in a matter of fact fashion. AJ blinked, then shrugged; at least he got a job.

"And I should be able to get one of you on the weather team if you want. I am the Captain after all." Rainbow Dash said confidently. Sean shrugged nonchalantly, but Jamie perked up, intrigued by the chance to actually work on a weather team

"I'm fine with that." Jamie said. Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded, before settling on a different subject.

"So where are you guys from exactly?" She asked bluntly, causing the six friends to look at her. "Princess Celestia, said you were from somewhere far away, but she never said where exactly." She continued. AJ and Sean looked at each other, unsure as to what to do. As far as they could tell, Celestia didn't want anyone knowing they were humans, not even her most trusted student it seemed. This left them with a dilemma as to how they should answer this particular question. AJ started to speak up.

"Uh well, we're from..."

"Coltentry, we're from Coltentry." AJ turned to look at Jamie, who had spoken. He looked at AJ and smiled. AJ nodded; at least Jamie had things under control.

"Coltentry Where's that exactly? I don't think I know it too well." Rarity said.

"Oh it's really far out east." Jamie explained. "It's a small village outside of Tottingham, hardly anyone knows it." The mares seemed to buy the explanation, and the group continued to make small talk. AJ breathed out a little harder than he should, relieved to not have anything given away

Nothing else about their backgrounds came up on the rest of the trip, so the six new ponies were quite relaxed by the time they reached Ponyville. Walking through the small streets, the group looked on in awe at the new world opening up around them. It was coming into early evening, so many of the shops were closing up. Eventually the group of ponies neared the large tree in the middle of town which was also Twilight's library. Next to the tree was a large house that Jamie and the girls had not seen before in the show. It stood at two stories tall, almost as tall as the tree next to it, and was styled the same as the other houses around it, complete with thatched straw roof and old-fashioned doors and windows.

"Princess Celestia said that you could use this place while you were staying in Poyville." Twilight explained as they approached, she levitated a set of keys before her with her magic, and floated them over to AJ, who caught them on his hoof. "It's been up for sale for a while now; surprised no-one's bought it actually." She mused to herself. "I live right next door, so if you have any questions, feel free to drop by." She said, indicating the large oak. The group nodded.

"Well, Ah better get back to the farm before I'm missed." Applejack said looking at the sun growing lower. "I'll come pick you up in the morning Oaksplitter. You best be ready to work hard." She said jokingly, tipping her hat to the group before she started to head back.

"I'll be round tomorrow as well." Rainbow Dash said, hovering into the air. "I'll pick up Swiftfeather once I've made sure he's on the weather team. See you then." She gave a quick wave and shot off in the direction of her cloud home. Soon the other mares said their goddbyes, and wished the group well in Ponyville, with Pinkie Pie promising a big party in the week for them.

Now by themselves for the first time all day, the group let themselves into the large house. They found it already furninshed with all they needed, courtesy of Celestia's magic the girls had supposed. There were separate bedrooms, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a living room. There was also a large room which seemed relatively empty, thought the group mostly left that as something they could use when they needed it. After cooking up some dinner with the groceries they found (also provided by the Solar Princess' magic, they guessed). The group sat on the three sofas in the living room and talked over what they had gone through.

"Okay, I know that none of us are used to this yet." Jamie said, looking at Sean and AJ in particular. "And I don't expect you guys to get used to this straight away. But the girls and I know that this isn't a bad thing that we're here. Granted we do miss home, just as much as you guys, but I think that if we pull together we can all really enjoy ourselves. AJ and Sean nodded.

"Jamie's right." Zack said. "We could be somewhere a lot worse than here for sure. However we don't know that much about here. So Jamie, girls, we're going to need you to tell us as much as you know about this place."

And so they did. The three fans of the show they were now a part of spent most of the evening explaining what had happened in the first 2 seasons. Jamie recounted about the return of Nightmare Moon, and the endless Night she brought with her. Izzy told them of Discord and how he nearly turned Ponyville into the 'Chaos Capital of Equestria'. Kaylee talked about the Royal Wedding that almost never happened thanks to the Changeling attack. And each time they told of the bravery and friendship of the 6 ponies who they had met, the Elements of Harmony, and how they defeated all threats brought against them. AJ, Sean and Zack all listened intently, hearing about all the different exploits of the group, the'Mane 6' as Jamie had dubbed them, until the three had finished.

"Blimey, they've really been through a lot together haven't they?" Zack said at last, AJ and Sean and nodding in agreement.

"Yes, but that's brought them closer together." Kaylee said. "The trials they've undergone has only strengthened their bond of friendship even more. Believe me, if there's one group that we should be lucky to know, then it's them."

"Well, I guess that's all we need to know for now." AJ said standing up. "Come on guys, we should get to bed and be ready for tomorrow. We are getting jobs after all." The other agreed and they all retired to the bedrooms they had chosen earlier. As AJ settled down on his comfy bed, he thought about his prospects in this world. He had to admit it did look like there was a lot to look forward too, and the mares he had met were certainly friendly. Applejack had offered him a job right out of the blue for one thing, just because he needed the money and she thought he would fit in. He appreciated that she was so open about it, and nice enough to offer it to him. The only question was if he would actually fit in tomorrow.

"_Well only one to find out I guess."_ He thought to himself as he drifted off.

≈**Acts of Valor≈**

AJ's eyes fluttered open slowly, adjusting to the light shining through his window. He raised his head and looked around the room, remembering what happened to him and his friends yesterday. Standing up on his legs, he found himself trying to regain his balance. He had only learned how to walk on four legs yesterday, and being tired certainly didn't help. He hoped that he wouldn't get too drunk if this world had such a thing as alcohol in it.

After showering and drying off, AJ entered the living room. He was about to go and grab some breakfast when there was a knock at the door. AJ went and opened the door. Outside stood Applejack, eyes open and awake.

"Mornin' Oaksplitter. You ready to get to work?" Applejack asked, full of energy and zeal that AJ clearly wasn't as he looked at the clock on the wall of the house.

"Applejack, it's 6:30 in the morning. How are you up this early?" AJ asked irritably, exiting the house and closing the door.

"Well when you work on a farm you have to be up early to get as much work as possible done." Applejack said matter-of-factly as she turned around. "You should get used to these early calls sugarcube, especially if you want to keep the job." She said jokingly, giving him a playful wink. AJ laughed despite his tiredness and the two began their walk over to Sweet Apple Acres.

So Oaksplitter, how d'ya settle in last night?" Applejack asked as they walked along the streets.

"Well this place certainly seems like a nice place to live in." Oaksplitter admitted. "And the rest of my friends certainly seem happy to be here, so I'm willing to give it a chance." AJ smiled at that.

"Glad to hear it, pardner, I'm sure you'll fit in around PonyVille just fine." She said confidently. As they exited the main town and started on the dirt path to the outskirts, the talk turned to AJ's new job.

"So, how did your family react when you said I was coming to help out?" AJ asked, causing Applejack to frown slightly.

"Well to tell ya the truth, my brother didn't take it too well." She admitted, looking down a bit. "Big Macintosh has always been a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to taking on help, plus with the farm doing like it is he doesn't think we can afford it either and..."

"Hold on wait a sec." AJ interrupted. "Are you telling me that business is bad at the farm? Thet you might not be able to afford to pay me?" He looked at her, and she seemed to only just come to terms with it.

"Well I can't lie to ya, business has been movin' a bit slow." She said. "And or the first few weeks we might have a bit of trouble scrapin' the proper bits together for a wage. But I think that with your help we can get business back on track again, and then I'd know for sure we can afford to pay ya." She looked at him. "I can understand if ya still don't wanna go through with this, I just thought you could really help us out here."

AJ looked at Applejack. He now had two choices; one was to turn around and head back to Ponyville and look around for a job with an actual wage he can get on the first week. And then there was the other. He walked up next to Applejack, looking her straight in the eye.

"Don't worry, I'll still help." He said reassuringly.

"Really?" Applejack asked hopefully, though trying her best to remain calm.

"Of course. We're friends now right? And I'm not gonna let a friend down when she needs me. Heck I'll even work for free to start with if you need me to." AJ said. In truth he was hoping to get paid, and knew that Sean wouldn't be best pleased at him offering to work for nothing, but it wasn't ike he could just walk away from someone who needed help, even if it was someone as stubborn as Jamie made her out to be.

"Well I sure appreciate that." She said happily, and began to lead him along the path again, the conversation once more returning to casual friendly chat.

As they reached the entrance to the farm, AJ could not suppress a surprised look around at the whole area. Sweet Apple Acres was indeed a large patch of land, and absolutely swarming with trees. From these trees a multitudes of reds, greens and many other colours radiated as the different apples on show for all to see. Applejack simply chuckled at his expression.

"You can shut your jaw now Oaksplitter, now come and meet the rest of the family." She said, continuing to laugh as AJ closed his jaw, a small blush creeping up his face. She escorted him over to the large barnhouse where she lived. As they approached AJ saw a pair of ponies exiting the house, presumably Applejack's family. He walked over and stood politely back a bit while Applejack came forward.

"Morning y'all, this here's Oaksplitter, the one I talked about last night? Oaksplitter, this is my brother Big Macintosh and Granny Smith." AJ nodded his head politely as Granny Smith approached. An elderly filly with bright green coat and white hair tied up in a bun, AJ guessed she was the head of the family. She walked around AJ, eyeing his whole body up, making him feel quite uncomfortable.

"Hmmm, strong legs, good body, a healthy young worker if ever I saw one." She said finally as she came face-to-face with him again. She smiled and held out a hoof. "I'm sure you'll make a fine addition to our little family."

"Thank you Ms. Smith, I won't let you down." AJ said politely as he shook hooves, surprised by how firm her shake actually was.

"Aw shoot you don't have to get all formal with me sonny, just call me Granny." Granny Smith said casually before stepping to the side. AJ eyed up Big Macintosh carefully as he approached. Although AJ was larger than Applejack, Big Macintosh was still easily taller than him, and very well built to boot. He nodded at AJ, an unreadable expression on his face. AJ wondered if he would have a problem with him working here. He decided to try the friendly approach.

"Hey, looking forward to working with you." He said in what he hoped was a friendly manner.

"Eeyup." Macintosh replied, not changing his expression at all. AJ frowned slightly and looked at AppleJack who just shrugged. She looked around her, apparently searching for something. "Hey, where's Applebloom got too? She was supposed to be up by the time we got here." She said looking over at Macintosh, who looked around, apparently not sure himself.

"Who's Applebl...?" AJ began to ask before finding himself knocked to the ground by a small yellow bundle of energy. Looking up, he saw a filly standing on his chest with red hair and an equally red bow attached. She stared at him excitedly, her sunset eyes brimming with young energy as she hopped excitedly on AJ's chest.

"Hi, I'm Applebloom!" The young filly said exuberantly. "Who are you? Are ya new in town? Are ya gonna be workin' on the farm? How d'ya know Applejack? Are ya her...?" She babbled on excitedly until Applejack pulled her off of AJ's chest and stopped her from bouncing the wind out of him.

"Easy there sugarcube, you'll do him an injury." She said, trying to contain her laughter at AJ's predicament. "Oaksplitter is gonna help us out on the farm for a while, so I'd appreciate it if you don't crush him."

"Oh, Sorry 'bout that., mister Oaksplitter, I didn't mean you to hurt ya or nothin" Applebloom said apologetically, looking down at the ground. AJ smiled at her, knowing she didn't mean it.

"Hey no harm done right?" He said cheerfully as he stood back up. "It's very nice to meet you as well Applebloom." He tussled her hair playfully, causing her to smile. Applejack smiled as well, before turning to the business at hand.

"Alright now Oaksplitter, It's time we got you to work. Come on I'll show you how we do things here on the farm." She began to head off towards the orchards. AJ followed Dutifully, looking behind him. Granny Smith smiled again, and Applebloom cheerfully waved a hoof. Big Macintosh again simply nodded. AJ smiled back and began to trot slightly faster in order to keep up with Applejack. Although a little sceptical last night, he was actually beginning to look forward to working here. One Last thought crossed his mind before he reached the first orchard.

"_I hope the others are doing okay..."_

**And there we go finally got this one done, and actually managed to keep to the deadline of the end of the month, that's a first. Anywho, feel free to review, be honest and PM me if you have any questions. Next chapter We'll follow the rest of our heroes as they begin to explore their new world.**

**A note as well before signing out, the town of Coltentry is in fact named after my home-city of Coventry, England. I decided to place it near Trottingham becuase of it's similarities to the Nottingham, and also how I've seen some people writing about how a 'Trottingham Accent' seems to be somewhat English with characters such as Octavia and Doctir Whooves. Just a little bit of trivia for those who were wondering. Anyway see you guys next moth with the new chapter.**

**I'm BlackFalcon, signing out.**


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